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Our "poster boy" for Iberian dun-looking horses
is Afortunado.
Click his name to see a page about him.
A test for dun markers has been developed, but
we're still waiting, because:
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As noted, the test is for MARKERS. No actual
"dun gene" has been discovered.
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The test is not considered valid for most Iberian horses
(See below)
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Dun-looking (striped) horses exist in breeds that "don't have dun
horses".
Their owners usually refuse to test them.
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Horses without "all of the required markings" who have dun
parents, or progeny, or other reasons they may still be dun, sometimes test
positive and sometimes negative, with the dun test. Here are a few
examples:
Also see:
Iberian duns:
A Simplified Overview
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Of course, the Sorraia and related breeds/crosses
consist of mostly, if not all, undisputed duns.
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Portuguese-bred: There are some undisputed duns in the
Lusitano
breed. Others are being studied.
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Spanish-bred: This list/website recognizes at least one
Andalusian dun, Afortunado. He
resides in New Zealand. He has dun-looking "relatives",
including a January 2011 son which appears to be a red dun.
See more about him and his "family"
here.
In addition to these, it seems that many other Iberian horses, with the markings
usually called Dun, either:
- are, or may be, going gray
- are suspected to be true black, plain brown (At) or
- smoky black or brown (black or brown with one cream gene)
and
- which
markings are often at least partially obscured by the dark coloring of the
surrounding areas.
Some believe that the gray gene itself is causing the dun markings in the
first case, and that something like nap or hair texture is causing them in the
second case.
We continue to keep an open mind! |
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